Terms of Service

Welcome to Birdpath. These Terms form a legally binding agreement between you and Birdpath. By registering or using the service, you confirm you have read and agree to these Terms.

1. The Service

Birdpath is an AI-powered bird identification web app offering:

• Upload a bird photo and get an AI identification result
• Personal identification history and encyclopedia unlocks (account required)
• Global birder leaderboard (account required)
• Bird encyclopedia browsing

The service is for educational / amateur birding use. Identification results are for reference only and do not constitute professional biological identification. For decisions that matter (research, conservation work, legal evidence), consult a specialist.

2. Account

• Provide a valid email and verify it before first sign-in
• Keep your password safe; don't share your account
• One account per person; no scripted bulk registration
• You can delete your account at any time at /profile
• Report security incidents to fankevin26@gmail.com immediately

3. Content Ownership

Photos you upload remain yours. We receive only the limited license necessary to deliver the service (store, send to the AI provider for inference, display results back to you).

The service's code, design, copy, and encyclopedia page layouts belong to Birdpath Studio. Unless otherwise noted, copying or commercial use is prohibited. Open-source dependencies (Next.js, shadcn, etc.) are subject to their own licenses.

Species representative photos shown in the encyclopedia come from iNaturalist (CC-BY or CC0 licensed) and remain the property of the original photographers; we display them under those license terms.

4. Your Commitments

By using the service you agree:

• Not to upload illegal, obscene, violent, or privacy-violating images
• Not to upload images you don't have rights to (copyright infringement is on you)
• Not to bypass authentication, inject malicious code, or attack the service
• Not to abuse the identification API with crawlers/scripts (a public API will be governed separately)
• Not to abuse the Wrong Studio easter egg by mass-uploading non-bird images

Violation lets us suspend or delete your account immediately, with no refund of any paid fees (if applicable).

5. Service Changes and Interruptions

The service is early-stage. We may at any time:

• Modify, add, or remove features
• Adjust identification limits or subscription prices (if Premium launches)
• Temporarily interrupt service for maintenance, upgrades, or force majeure
• Discontinue the service entirely (with 30-day advance notice to all users and a data export window)

6. Disclaimer

The service is provided "as-is". We do our best on accuracy and uptime but do not guarantee:

• AI identification accuracy is 100% (common species are reliable; rare birds, females, juveniles, multiple birds in frame can degrade accuracy)
• Uninterrupted service (we depend on Vercel, Neon, Supabase, DashScope — any one's outage may impact us)
• Zero data loss (we use reliable cloud services, but extreme failures cannot be 100% excluded)

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Birdpath Studio is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or punitive damages arising from your use of the service. Your sole remedy is to stop using the service.

7. Paid / Premium (Future)

The service is currently entirely free. If we launch a Premium subscription or one-time paid features, separate paid terms will spell out prices, refund policy, auto-renewal rules, etc. Using Premium at that point will mean you accept the Premium terms then in effect.

8. Third-Party Services

The service integrates third parties (see the Privacy Policy). Each third party has its own terms; Birdpath Studio is not responsible for their conduct.

9. Termination

You can delete your account at any time from /profile — immediate and irreversible, no retention drama.

We may also terminate your account unilaterally if:

• You breach these Terms (especially §4)
• We're required to by law or regulation
• Your account has been inactive for 24+ consecutive months (we warn by email first)

10. Governing Law / Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan special jurisdictions). For disputes, we try good-faith negotiation first; failing that, jurisdiction is the People's Court of Chaoyang District, Beijing.

11. Changes to These Terms

These Terms may be revised as the service evolves. Substantive changes will be announced by email. Continuing to use the service after a revision means accepting the new version. If you disagree, you may stop using and delete your account immediately.

12. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email fankevin26@gmail.com.